The Orange Order has been given a £300k grant from the Ulster-Scots Agency for their ambitious plan to create a virtual Twelfth.
Due to the Covid-19, all Orange parades have been cancelled. But the Order is hoping to use the latest Virtual Reality technology to give at-home members the experience of parading.
The project is the brainchild of Banford Abernathy, founder of PurePet, a company that creates VR systems for training vets. Banford said:
Three generations of my family have been in the Orange Order. The idea that the 12th of July would not go ahead horrified me. I realised we could use the same technology we use for training vets to create a virtual 12th.
Amadán Aibreáin, a Sinn Fein councillor and chair of the Cyberspace residents committee, was not as enthusiastic about the plans:
We believe Cyberspace should be a neutral space for all, and we strongly resent Orange feet on Cyberspace streets. We intend to use our civic rights to virtually protest these Orange Marches. We dislike any displays of digital triumphalism, no matter how pixelated.
The App for iPhones and Android should be available by the end of April. To use it, Loyal Orange Order members just need to buy a low-cost head-mounted phone holder. To add to the experience, a walking treadmill can also be used.
Most of the App development cost will be funded by the Ulster Scots grant. But Banford does expect the App to have a small yearly subscription price of £16.90 to cover running costs.
The App will initially launch with the main Twelfth routes. But Banford said that over time they plan to add additional walking routes to the App. “Maybe the App will finally let us walk down Garvaghy Road,” Banford added.
Photo by Sound On is licensed under CC0
Managing Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.
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